Engineering is the application of mathematics, empirical evidence and scientific

, economic, social, and practical knowledge in order to invent, innovate, design

, build, maintain, research, and improve structures, machines, tools, systems, c
omponents, materials, processes and organizations.
The discipline of engineering is extremely broad, and encompasses a range of mor
e specialized fields of engineering, each with a more specific emphasis on parti
cular areas of applied science, technology and types of application.
The term Engineering is derived from the Latin ingenium, meaning "cleverness" an
d ingeniare, meaning "to contrive, devise".
Contents [hide]
1
Definition
2
History
2.1
Ancient era
2.2
Renaissance era
2.3
Modern era
3
Main branches of engineering
4
Practice
5
Methodology
5.1
Problem solving
5.2
Computer use
6
Social context
7
Relationships with other disciplines
7.1
Science
7.2
Medicine and biology
7.3
Art
7.4
Business Engineering and Engineering Management
7.5
Other fields
8
See also
9
References
10
Further reading
11
External links
Definition[edit]
The American Engineers' Council for Professional Development (ECPD, the predeces
sor of ABET)[1] has defined "engineering" as:
The creative application of scientific principles to design or develop structure
s, machines, apparatus, or manufacturing processes, or works utilizing them sing
ly or in combination; or to construct or operate the same with full cognizance o
f their design; or to forecast their behavior under specific operating condition
s; all as respects an intended function, economics of operation or safety to lif
e and property.[2][3]
History[edit]
Main article: History of engineering
Relief map of the Citadel of Lille, designed in 1668 by Vauban, the foremost mil
itary engineer of his age.
Engineering has existed since ancient times as humans devised fundamental invent
ions such as the wedge, lever, wheel, and pulley. Each of these inventions is es
sentially consistent with the modern definition of engineering.
The term engineering is derived from the word engineer, which itself dates back
to 1390, when an engine'er (literally, one who operates an engine) originally re
ferred to "a constructor of military engines."[4] In this context, now obsolete,
an "engine" referred to a military machine, i.e., a mechanical contraption used
in war (for example, a catapult). Notable examples of the obsolete usage which
have survived to the present day are military engineering corps, e.g., the U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers.

The word "engine" itself is of even older origin, ultimately deriving from the L
atin ingenium (c. 1250), meaning "innate quality, especially mental power, hence
a clever invention."[5]
Later, as the design of civilian structures such as bridges and buildings mature
d as a technical discipline, the term civil engineering[3] entered the lexicon a
s a way to distinguish between those specializing in the construction of such no
n-military projects and those involved in the older discipline of military engin
eering.
Ancient era[edit]
The Ancient Romans built aqueducts to bring a steady supply of clean fresh water
to cities and towns in the empire.
The Pharos of Alexandria, the pyramids in Egypt, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon,
the Acropolis and the Parthenon in Greece, the Roman aqueducts, Via Appia and t
he Colosseum, Teotihuacn and the cities and pyramids of the Mayan, Inca and Aztec
Empires, the Great Wall of China, the Brihadeeswarar Temple of Thanjavur and In
dian Temples, among many others, stand as a testament to the ingenuity and skill
of the ancient civil and military engineers.
The earliest civil engineer known by name is Imhotep.[3] As one of the officials
of the Pharaoh, Djosr, he probably designed and supervised the construction of t
he Pyramid of Djoser (the Step Pyramid) at Saqqara in Egypt around 2630 2611 BC.[6
]
Ancient Greece developed machines in both civilian and military domains. The Ant
ikythera mechanism, the first known mechanical computer,[7][8] and the mechanica
l inventions of Archimedes are examples of early mechanical engineering. Some of
Archimedes' inventions as well as the Antikythera mechanism required sophistica
ted knowledge of differential gearing or epicyclic gearing, two key principles i
n machine theory that helped design the gear trains of the Industrial Revolution
, and are still widely used today in diverse fields such as robotics and automot
ive engineering.[9]
Chinese, Greek, Roman and Hungarian armies employed complex military machines an
d inventions such as artillery which was developed by the Greeks around the 4th
century B.C.,[10] the trireme, the b